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Dr. Robert Campbell
President & Vice-Chancellor, Mount Allison University
“I measure success along two axes: sustainability and quality. Has the organization improved its performance, enhanced its brand or reputation?”
Enrolment is up 30 per cent, the budget is balanced, there’s no external debt, their football team is headed by the Canadian Coach of the Year and their VP of University Advancement is one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. Is it just coincidence that it’s all happened under the selfpossessed eye of Robert Campbell, the school’s self-described chief fundraiser, cheerleader, strategist, and go-to guy? We think not.
Not as easy as it looks Even as the accolades pile up, Mount Allison is not without its problems. As a high-quality/high-cost experience in a low price/low revenue world, revenue is a perennial problem. Fortunately, Robert Campbell has a plan: increase fundraising, grow their brand, increase productivity, and be ruthless with costs. That, and a lifelong learner’s eagerness to absorb new, better ways of operating.
Motivational strategy Asked how he inspires staff, Dr. Campbell says it’s more that they inspire him. His job, he says, is merely to communicate objectives, explain the importance of individual contributions, organize ways/means for everyone to work together, and celebrate their various accomplishments.
Susan Chalmers-Guavin
Chief Executive Officer
Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada Inc.
“Leadership is a combination of inspiration, authenticity and accountability. I am passionate about what I do. Passion is contagious.”
To this 2013 recipient of Canada’s Top 100 Award: Canada’s Most Powerful Women, the dance of entrepreneurship is almost as appealing as the world-class ballet company she co-founded and crafted from the ground up. Over the past 14 years, this Moncton impresario has turned her corner of the world into a go-to place for art and culture. The result: the largest professional performing arts organization in New Brunswick.
Criticism meets creativity Susan has never let naysayers stop her. When skeptics told her that her venture would never succeed, the former social program development executive went to work to prove that it could and would. “Over the past 13 years, we have received over $4 million from non-traditional sources,” she says. What’s more, “Our privatesector investment is very strong and has grown significantly.”
A pirouette for papa Moncton’s resident dancing queen credits her physician-dad for imparting to her the qualities of leadership on which she now relies daily: “My work ethic, persistence, and optimistic outlook have their roots in watching and listening to my father.”
Donald E. Clow
President & CEO
Crombie REIT
“Be humble. Developing individuals as team players and leaders pays longterm returns. Hire employees with clarity of vision and support them to achieve success.”
If there’s one thing Donald Clow knows, it’s property – the kind that might raise blisters on his hands for all the sod-busting ceremonies he could put them through. As the resident honcho of Crombie REIT (a Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust), he has shepherded his enterprise from a valuation of $1.5 billion to close to $3.7 billion since 2009. “Be persistent in achieving your goals,” he says simply.
Model moguls Donald counts among his major business influences the late Frank Sobey (grocery giant), Simon Spatz (real estate mogul), and John Huard (the football coach who demonstrated the value of strategy and teamwork in winning two Canadian university football championships for Acadia University). The watchwords these men imparted were persuasive: “humanity, wisdom, perseverance and courage.”
Rising to the challenge Clow counts the $1-billion purchase of Safeway assets in 2013 as his biggest accomplishment to date. “It was the largest transaction of my career.” More importantly, perhaps, “it presented significant new and exciting challenges that tested our team’s abilities.”
Doug Doucet
Owner & President, rcs Construction Inc.; Mill-Right Woodworking Inc.; Tier Too Properties Ltd. (partnership); Swiss Chalet – Kempt Road & Dartmouth Crossing (partnership)
“Business owners who are not challenging themselves are not moving forward. By challenging yourself, you challenge your executive team, who in turn motivates their teams to excel.”
To say that Doug Doucet is a “hands-on” leader of his impressive suite of companies is to say that a carpenter knows his grain of wood. Doug “The builder” is one of Atlantic Canada’s most accomplished construction guys. He should host a TV show, if he doesn’t say so himself. Instead he says this: “You have to believe in what you are doing and have a passion for it.”
Lesson learned An ambitious project that rcs enthusiastically pursued, assuming it would leapfrog them into an industryleading position, quickly turned sour due to poor management and inadequate funding. The moral of the story? Never assume anything about even the largest of projects, and always do your due diligence.
Gifting back With 10 personal volunteer commitments and another 15 corporately, Doug rarely declines the chance to support causes that are important to clients, staff and friends. “Not only are we able to give back to the communities that support us,” he says, but these initiatives also help “foster teamwork and camaraderie in the workplace.”
Steven Drummond
President
Source Atlantic Ltd.; Petro Service Ltd.
“A positive, adaptable attitude is the most valuable quality in a prospective employee. Regardless of competency set, a person with the right attitude will achieve success.”
What does supply-chain management mean? For Steven Drummond, operator of one of the most successful groups in the business, it’s about finding the right materials, goods and technical services as well as business solutions and learning management systems, at the right time, for burgeoning companies. With 400 good jobs and a new 20,000 sq. ft. facility in play, he’s obviously supplying his various chains exquisitely well.
Change agent Steven says that Source Atlantic found its competitive edge in a mature and declining market by embracing innovation. Faced with fastmoving shifts in technology, business modeling and the global economy, he responded by “looking for ways to reinvent what we do and who we are on a continuous basis.” His ultimate goal is to proactively identify and resolve customer issues, creating quantifiable value for his clients.
Secret weapon Drummond credits his success to his wife Brenda. Her encouragement and support across multiple moves and academic endeavours enabled him to grab the brass ring with both hands. The takeaway? “Leadership is not a singular achievement.”
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